Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s by 
Romanelli (2020) 
- Chart updated: 4 days ago
- (Created: 12/04/2011 20:30).
- Chart size: 100 albums.
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Produced by Brian Paulson & Son Volt. Uncle Tupelo split up in 1994, and Jay Farrar formed Son Volt while his former bandmate Jeff Tweedy started Wilco. Out of the gate, Son Volt's Trace was miles above Wilco's A.M., and became one of the greatest alt country albums of all time. "Route" is the bands greatest song, and tracks like "Tear Stained Eye" and "Loose String" are stunning. The album even closes with a Ron Wood cover. How cool is Son Volt? Cooler than your band. Cooler than my band. Damn cool.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
6
Overall chart rating: #2. Produced by Jim Scott. Strangers Almanac is the crowning achievement of Whiskeytoen. Ryan Adams gets pushed aside as a country artist by a lot of people, but he is a really brilliant songwriter, and his music is, in many cases, moe alt than country. Whiskeytown didn't last long, but it yielded this masterpiece. "Inn Town" and "Dancing With The Women At The Bar" are beautiful, but "Losering" is one of the greatest songs ever. Yes, I have a lot of Ryan Adams high on my chart. For good reason.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Produced by Butch Vig. Nevermind was the album that changed everything at the exact moment it was needed. Tired hair metal was becoming dronish, and "Smells like Teen Spirit" gave us all hope for the future. This album reminded us all that we didn't have to follow the formula, that we didn't have to make crappy power ballads, that it was okay to rock without pyrotechnic guitar solos, and that you didn't have to wear spandex and makeup to be a star. Thank you, Nirvana. Always.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1991
Appears in:
Rank Score:
55,506
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Produced by Depeche Mode and Flood. Dismissed by many as the band giving in to teen pressure to make a pop album, one listen to this lets you know just how absurd THAT notion is. Violator is dark and perfect, with tracks like "Personal Jesus", "Policy Of Truth", and "Enjoy The Silence". This is Depeche Mode all grown up from the cheap sounding keyboard band they'd been in the past...they were now serious, tuneful and they could also rock more than ever. This stands today as a perfect album. Never get tired of this.
[First added to this chart: 06/03/2013]
Year of Release:
1990
Appears in:
Rank Score:
13,678
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Produced by Nirvana & Scott Litt. "Oh, Nirvana is so overrated". "Oh, Kurt Cobain wasn't what everyone says he was". Cut the damn whining and listen to MTV Unplugged. There's no hiding behind Marshall stacks here. This is a band with cool songs playing them without the noise and with as much heart as anyone ever could. When the unplugged format was good, it was amazing, and nobody ever topped what Nirvana did with it. If they had never made another album, this alone would make them a legend.
[First added to this chart: 02/09/2012]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
12,283
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Produced by Brian Paulson & Wilco. Wilco's debut album is as close to the sound of Jeff Tweedy's previous band, Uncle Tupelo, as they ever got. More than any other Wilco record, this album is steeped in alt-country, and Tweedy gets to shine as a songwriter for really the first time. A lot of people prefer their later work, but for me, I'll take great songs like "Casino Queen", "Passenger Side" and "Pick Up The Change" over most of the more experimental side that has dominated their more recent work.
[First added to this chart: 12/05/2011]
Produced By Rick Rubin, Tom Petty & Mike Campbell. Tom Petty is a guy whose music sounds very simple, but it's really not...and I know, having played in a Petty tribute band. It's more complex than it sounds. Petty has a reall passion for what he does, and that comes through strongly on Wildflowers. The first half of this is as strong as you'll find, but when the second half grows on you as well, you'll never want to be without this album. If I could have a theme song, it would be "It's Good To Be King".
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1994
Appears in:
Rank Score:
1,593
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Produced by Peter Buck. Recorded in just five days, this acoustic album from one of alt-country's best bands is a true gem. Split between originals and traditional covers, the love of country music that Jay Farrar and Jeff Tweedy had shines like a beacon. With R.E.M.'s Peter Buck at the controls, songs like "Coalminers", "Moonshiner", and "Grindstone" are gritty and dripping with what the best of Americana has always been: music for and about real, ordinary people. An unknown gem of an album.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Produced by Owen Morris & Noel Gallagher. Before heroin took over, Noel Gallagher was one hell of a songwriter. And Oasis was one hell of a band. It's not their fault that people got so very stupid over them. The truth is, they made two superb albums before they succumbed to thepressure of people putting ridiculous comparisons on them. Those same people then turned on them for not living up to the hype. Bullshit. Oasis was, for a short time, brilliant. And this album is the center of that brilliance.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
24,410
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Produced by John Leckie. No sophomore slump here. What made Radiohead great was the massive jump in quality from their first to second album, and then they continued it to their third. That they were able to transform from a grunge-like sound to this in one album speaks volumes about Radiohead's musical abilities, and about their vision as a band. Listing the great songs on The Bends is easy: just look at the track list. They're all great. And they were actually just getting started.
[First added to this chart: 12/04/2011]
Year of Release:
1995
Appears in:
Rank Score:
46,272
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Total albums: 100. Page 1 of 10
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s composition
| Year | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
| 1990 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1991 | 17 | 17% | |
| 1992 | 15 | 15% | |
| 1993 | 12 | 12% | |
| 1994 | 9 | 9% | |
| 1995 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1996 | 6 | 6% | |
| 1997 | 11 | 11% | |
| 1998 | 8 | 8% | |
| 1999 | 2 | 2% |
| Artist | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
 |
|
|
| Uncle Tupelo | 4 | 4% | |
| Nirvana | 3 | 3% | |
| The Black Crowes | 2 | 2% | |
| Golden Smog | 2 | 2% | |
| Wilco | 2 | 2% | |
| Pavement | 2 | 2% | |
| The Lemonheads | 2 | 2% | |
| Show all | |||
| Country | Albums | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
 |
73 | 73% | |
 |
14 | 14% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
4 | 4% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
 |
1 | 1% | |
| Show all | |||
Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s chart changes
| Biggest climbers |
|---|
 Up 3 from 16th to 13thDizzy Up The Girl by Goo Goo Dolls |
| Biggest fallers |
|---|
 Down 1 from 13th to 14thBeing There by Wilco |
| Down 1 from 14th to 15th Ten by Pearl Jam |
| Down 1 from 15th to 16th Bringing Down The Horse by The Wallflowers |
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Romanelli (2020)Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s ratings
87/100 (from 40 votes)
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
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Showing latest 5 ratings for this chart. | Show all 40 ratings for this chart.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Chart ratings | Avg. chart rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 80/100  | 02/15/2020 01:40 | zwiebel | | 64/100 |
| 100/100 | 01/18/2020 20:20 |  Rhyner | | 99/100 |
| 90/100 | 01/18/2020 16:02 |  ExTeaSea | | 88/100 |
| 85/100 | 05/30/2019 07:33 |  ForegroundNoise | | 87/100 |
| 90/100 | 05/30/2019 03:28 |  Purplepash | | 89/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
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This chart is rated in the top 8% of charts on BestEverAlbums.com. This chart has a mean average rating of 86.0/100. The trimmed mean (excluding outliers) is 87.3/100. The standard deviation for this chart is 16.5.
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Top 100 Music Albums of the 1990s comments
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90/100
From ExTeaSea 01/18/2020 16:05
ExTeaSea 01/18/2020 16:05
I really appreciate some of the more personal picks. This is a really good chart. 14 albums in common is pretty good. Perhaps one day I'll check out Uncle Tupelo.
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85/100
From ForegroundNoise 05/30/2019 07:36
ForegroundNoise 05/30/2019 07:36
Really love the detailed notes and careful selections!! I still feel it's a little too focused on American alt-rock for my liking however, would be nice to see some electronic releases/more hip hop besides Public Enemy at no.73!
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90/100
From 
RoundTheBend 05/30/2019 02:57
RoundTheBend 05/30/2019 02:57
23 albums in common. Solid other picks!
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100/100
From edubs 05/29/2019 20:20
awesome chart!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
HoldenM 10/01/2017 05:52
HoldenM 10/01/2017 05:52
Ahhh... That's a great chart right there.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
ObsoleteEntity 09/30/2017 15:39
ObsoleteEntity 09/30/2017 15:39
I, too, am a big Uncle Tupelo fan. When they broke I preferred the way of Son Volt rather than Wilco, not that it needs to be one or the other. I like your picks. I will check out your other charts. Peace.
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
75/100
From platus 10/27/2016 15:44
Interesting chart, some nice albums!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
100/100
From 
buzzdainer 07/22/2016 15:44
buzzdainer 07/22/2016 15:44
A very delicious nineties chart. Great to see Strangers Almanac in the #1 spot, as it was definitely a decade-defining record for me. I also love Anodyne; Wildflowers; March 16-20, 1992; and Tomorrow the Green Grass. Great notes accompanying your selections, as well. Great job!
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
90/100
From RoundTheBend 05/23/2016 02:25
RoundTheBend 05/23/2016 02:25
24 albums in common.
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95/100
From BraddlesHendo 12/05/2014 23:28
Not easy decade to pick great albums, done it easily
Completely forgot about Edie Brickell the remembered Paul Simon married her
Helpful? (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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